South Sudan delays launching national dialogue over lack of funds

April 7, 2017 (JUBA) – Senior officials in South Sudan Friday said the national dialogue that was declared by President Salva Kiir could not be launched because the funds have not yet been secured to facilitate the activities of the secretariat.

The dialogue was supposed to start in March.

A cabinet minister in the unity government, who preferred anonymity told Sudan Tribune that he was uncertain if the dialogue would start because the international partners who indicated their willingness to provide support were now reluctant to come forward.

“The main reason is that there are no funds. The funds allocated in the budget for peace implementation have not been provided. The ministry of finance is unable to avail funds because there is no money. You know very well that civil servants and those in the army have spent more than two months without payment. This is now the priority,” the official added.

He said the national dialogue was supposed to fund by the Japanese government who indicated their readiness to provide funds, but they are now reluctant. The delay is a direct result of the development of the regional protection force and the demand to make the dialogue an inclusive process.

“Things that include other people are always not reliable. The Japanese government which initially indicated the willingness to assist with financial support is now reluctant. They are talking about the regional protection force and inclusivity, it seems these are their conditions for assistances,” said the official.

His comments echoed similar comments made by Ateny Wek Ateny, Presidential Spokesperson, who said in a separate interview that the money had not yet been put in place to organise the national dialogue.

The national dialogue, which President Kiir announced in December, was supposed to start a month ago but nothing has been done thus far.

Top officials from the dialogue steering committee appointed last year said progress on the program seen as an anchor of people-to-people reconciliation had stalled and committee members had not yet been sworn in.

Joseph Okello, a member of the steering committee said separately they have not been called for swearing in even after their names were announced through the presidential decree.

“We have heard President that the national dialogue arrangements are underway. Our names were announced but we have not been called to be sworn in as members of the committee and therefore we are waiting to hear from him when this will take place,” said Okello.

While several officials, including Ateny have linked the cause of the delay to lack of funds, Michael Makuei Lueth, government spokesman and the Minister of Information told reporters earlier this week that the cause of the delay was due to documents which the secretariat was developing.

President Kiir and the members of cabinet announced after the declaration of the dialogue and the appointment of the officials that the steering committee would come up with a budget to start the process.

The President also organised the National Day of Prayer in March to commence the dialogue in which he publicly asked to be forgiven for the failures of his person that have plunged the nation into chaos.

(ST)

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8 April 03:10, by Kuch

And since when have the Sudanese people ever been needing money to settle their own spats/quarrels? With foreign money? Non that l know of. The fools who don’t want peace in our country are the same criminals war to continue and their war have to be paid for by the US, the UK, the UN and NGOs! Give us a break fellows.

Kuch,
I have been doubting your origin for quite a while, now known - Sudanese; that’s why you often post inconsistent comments! South Sudan has been living on foreign handouts since pre-independence (CPA period), fact.
Rather, question any sane person like in you should have asked is: why would Gov’t propose national dialogue if there was no money?

Here comes mrrediculous again! he has money to buy guns to kill innocent civilians, money for building mansions & no money for holding a dialogue!!! Just when we thought he can’t get more ridiculous, mr. Incompetent came up with this stupid dialogue idea! To him dialogue means just him and his JCE rapists & looters after killing and violently displacing every non jieng Peoples. Kiir is the problem

That’s pretty sad indeed! That mean without funds,no dialogue? No peace as well? So, what are we protecting here,if money is everything? Now, it’s time for each state in the country to make her own dialogue with her neighboring states. If not, then some states will finish in the hands of starvation without single billets.

Mr. Eastern, you are playing game that doesn’t you. Mr. Eastern. We don’t like the so-called cloned arabs of North Sudan, including your Eastern Sudan. We are going to bomb you back to *Saudi Arabia and the red sea* and to ocean. We don’t want white people of Arabs, the so-called evil juus, corporate America, English people stock in our country. We hate them like our backs that we don’t see>>>

Mr. Eastern, do you know that there are wars in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue Nile and even your own Eastern North Sudan? Mr. Eastern, wasn’t it you who commented in this *SUDANTRIBUNE* that over a month ago that South Sudan is used as "a door mat" by other countries" We are here chap, get your rubbish out of our country. Game is over pal>>>

Eastern,
Perhaps the organization of this luakjieng meeting should have been given to their learned jienge son Kuch who seems to be more modern in thinking as those naked luak savages whose brains are smaller than their test...s. These jienge scoundrels have often relied on the organizational skills of Equatorians cos they are just numbskulls. Look at their jienge states? Just hopeless losers and

Please firmly behind Kiir; then South Sudanese will send you along with him. Kiir is incapable of doing anything for the country and you people want credit him with everything. The sooner Kiir goes from the limelight, the better for the country!

What did the tribal government expect, do they think their actions against International laws go unnoticed? Or do they think that, the hardline front portrayed by government officials in their dealings with UNMISS will be ignored by a UN member state like Japan.
They can stuff their fake National Dialogue into their MTN pipes and smoke it...Ya awulad kelib!
Anyanya One.

Eyes,
It was clear from the start that the kiirminal is a loser and unable to organize anything. How could he anyway? You can’t be a bushfighter and good organizer. The kiirminal simply receives directives like most jienges do. Thinking, organizing etc is not their strength. As most jienges they’re used to free things and want someone to finance this luakjieng meeting. Bullshit. Do your things los

Jubaone
Their Jienge stupidity is beyond comprehension, how can a conventional president be spoon-fed rubbish by a tribal committee, and actually, incorporates and enacts their garbage into government policies and agenda.
These people are just empty headed and lack leadership like M7 recently said, they had no vision other than promote ethno-centric dominance and ethnic hegemony over others.
X1

Foolishness indeed
no funds that mean more fights, it the same scenario when Riek return to Juba the expectation was high, hoping dollars will flowing in. When donors failed to contributs Riek was ousted as the result. For your information donors don’t throw money anyhow, first you need to meet all the requirement and condition that would motivate and persuaded the donors, its not 2008 and 2011.

Killer Kiir posing as a leader with nothing upstairs. He declares what he can not do without assistance of outside world. Roads, hospitals and schools all built with taxpayers’ dollars in the west. Money got from sale of petroleum is used to buy weapons that is used to kill citizens and partly on prostitutes from neighbouring countries.

Hahhahah my ribs spla/splmology should act faster before we the common citizens kick them out of the leadership. How could these spla/m failures announce spla/m dialogue without funds. I believe the greatest problem of SS is spla/m party and the co-horts. #spla/m free SS we are South Sudanese not Sudanese take your spla/m garbage to Sudan.Warmongers have no place in SS

SS is for all over of us regardless of your tribe or region not even talking of the state that you come from. SS is the only piece of gold that we have in our bank account of treasure not these minded-like parties, spla/m(ig or io), splmdc, republican, nsf they are all birds of the same feather. The early SS citizens can realize that their lives matter more than those useless parties the beta

Look at the thugs and Mafia ,what a shame are these people pertained to be a leaders of this country while their ambitions is to steal peoples’ moneys time is coming you lost like Gadafi of Libya and you will be hang like Sadam Hessin

Why you made? You said that it is not a rigth time for national dialogue. If you said Salva kiir his destroying SS, it should not be the one by him myself, you’re destroying SS with him too, because he’s not the only one who is armed in the country and he is not a the bad man in country alone

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